Field Trip!

 Just a few pictures from our trip to The Magic House this week.  Once a month there is a Homeschool Morning.  The upside is that it is only $3 and it is generally not too crowded.  The downside - only two hours.  Last year I went twice so I could spend time on the younger kid stuff with my little guys, and then the second time to hit all the "big" kid stuff.

My crew, plus a few friends.  Tony is a good sport to get his picture taken in the Magic Tree House area, especially since he was about a foot taller than most people there!

The kids really  had a good time.

And, just to keep me humble..........

It is Monday! What are you reading this week?

I did one start-and-put-down last week - The Fairy Godmother, by Mercedes Lackey.  I love fairy tales re-told (I am devoted to ABC's Once Upon a Time series) but this was......dull.  I gave it about 50 pages, then dumped.

The littles and I started Pippi Longstocking last night, and the bigs and I are still in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.  I am moving forward slowly in Organized Simplicity. I want to take it all in before I start organizing my life, and it is giving me a few things to chew on.

My biggie for the week is Knowing God by J.I. Packer.  This book is on my "goal" list for this year, and so far (2 chapters) I am really getting a lot out of it.  A thorough review will be provided at the end of the month.  But for now, suffice it to say that it is NOT stuffy or sleep-inducing, but moves at a good pace and is very convicting.

I also have an ongoing Bible study by Kay Arthur and am on a regular reading schedule in the ESV Study Bible.  All my current books are in the Goodreads box on the right.

I am stopping by the library today, so there is a chance I may come home with something new, too.

And what are YOU reading this week?

Priorities, priorities

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.  Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is."  Ephesians 5:15-17 ESV

Life this week has been turned around and upside down. After managing to wax philosophical about the changes in my plans on Wednesday, it seems like I should have been ready for the rest of the week.

It certainly seems that way, doesn't it?  But, not much went according to plan Friday, either.

We did get school done, yjough.  The highlight of the day was our Bible study.  I was listening to Glenn Beck.  I don't usually, because I think he is an alarmist, and slightly off his rocker.  But, he was talking about the crash of society as we know it, and God used that. God showed me clearly that I have not got our priorities right.  There are a lot of days that the kids and I will get math, science, social studies, etc. done - especially Tony and Ben, since they can do most of theirs on their own.  But Bible study requires all of us, it requires time and me sitting down and going through scripture with them.  And sometimes that gets missed.  I will tell them to do some reading, or work on their AWANA, but not sit down myself with them.  And really, what is our priority?  God's Word is always our first, or should be.  The rest will come, if we have our priorities in line. I get myself in a tizzy over the things of this world - preparing for the SAT for instance.  While it is good to teach them math, language arts, science, etc. it has to come second to God's Word.  The Word is eternal, all the rest of this is so temporary.  I say I want to prepare them for a future by educating them, but what sort of future is there without God?  None at all.  Anyway, when I got back home all I wanted to do was crash with a cup of tea and play on the computer for a bit, but we all got our Bibles and continued where we left off in John.  We are just going straight through that book, reading and discussing, and when we finish we will do another.  We also had a great time of prayer together.  The littles are not quite ready to pray out loud, but that is okay.

I should have more unplanned days.  This is good stuff.  The Lord truly ministered to me through the little trials that I had.  If I could just learn to keep my focus on Him and not on my own little plans and ideas, how much better the days go.  And how much more useful to Him I can be.  How much more in tune with His great purposes.

And here is what I read last month - January, 2012

Overall, a good reading month.  Six books completed, several in progress, a few started and tossed aside.  No 5 stars, but a few 4s.  And heeerrrrreee they are:

1.  I Am Half-Sick of Shadows: A Flavia De Luce Novel by Alan Bradley.  I only gave this a 3 (Liked it).  These usually earn a 4+.  It started slow and never seemed to pick up.  The only really interesting parts were the clues about Dogger's past, and some light being shed on the feelings of Ophelia for her sister Flavia.  I will certainly read the next one.



2.  True Christian Motherhood an ebook by June Fuentes.  Another 3.  I guess I have read so many of these sort of books that it would have to be really outstanding for me to take notice.  This book is really a series of blog posts.  Would be good reading for a new Christian or new mother, just discovering these things.

3.  The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis - 4 stars (really liked it alot).

 I was surprised how much of the book WASN'T about Michael Oher - it really is about the evolution in game strategies in the NFL, and how that trickled down to college and high school teams and recruiting.  I was also surprised at how different the chronology of the lives of the Tooheys and Michael were from that portrayed in the movie.

The books really ARE always better, aren't they?

4.  The Importance of Being Seven (44 Scotland Street #6) by Alexander McCall Smith - 2 stars (it was okay).  Not as good as some of the others.  The continuing saga of Bertie is getting to be more than I can bear.  Can I admit that when his mother Irene disappeared I was really hoping she wouldn't be back??  I can't stand the sadness in his life, yet Bertie keeps trying, keeps hoping for things the rest of us take for granted - like a friend.  Maybe in book #7 his new friendship will bloom and his father Stuart will grow a backbone.  If I don't see some improvement, Mr. Smith, the next installment will be my last!
5.  Free Land by Rose Wilder Lane - 4 stars.  In case there is a bibliovore out there who doesn't know, Rose is Laura Ingalls Wilder's daughter.  She is also strongly rumored to be the true "author" of the Little House books.  Laura wrote out her memories, and the Rose edited and assembled them into book form.  If you compare "The First Four Years" to any of the previous Little House books, you can see the difference (Rose did not edit TFFY).



Free Land contains many elements from the LH books and Laura's experience as a pioneer, but it is told from  an adult perspective, so it is considerably darker.  David and Mary are a young couple, earning their "free land" in the Dakotas in the 1880s.  David especially is based on Almanzo Wilder - same names for his siblings, growing up in the same places (NewYork and Minnesota) and even raising Morgans.  Many other elements of the LH books, such as the Hard Winter, play key roles in this story.

6.  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, 4 stars.  This should probably be 5 stars, but I have read it so many times that some of the wonder has faded I guess.  This was one of my favorite books as a child, and I read it to my older boys a few years ago.  This month I read it to my 7 and 8 year old sons, and they loved it.  After we read the book we compared it to the movie (1971 version with Gene Wilder).  One of the best parts of my day is when I get to share some of my favorite books with my sons.  Even the older boys, who are turning 12 and 14 in the next few weeks still enjoy that time each night to soak up a good book together.

And that is it for me- what did YOU read?

The Unplanned Day

Every so often, the unplanned happens in my well-planned life.

I really don't care for it.

Not that I can't be all happy-go-lucky, and a free spirit.  I can.  I do.  It's just......I like to plan ahead, pencil in my happy-go-lucky days on the calendar.

I guess I could say that I LIKE it when the unplanned pleasant things happen - unexpected friends coming by, a last-minute invite, a toss everything and go to the park day.

I don't like the unpleasant.  Sudden car malfunctions are the worst, in my opinion, but they are pretty infrequent.  Illness, on the other hand..........

With four kids, even with the relative shelter from germs that homeschooling provides, there is going to be illness.  Usually when you are trying to go out of town, or have something planned that you really need to attend.

Today we are fortunate that all I had planned was science co-op, guitar lessons and family fellowship tonight. This is the first science I have had to cancel, and we are over halfway through the year, so I guess that isn't too bad. Next week will be a lot of catch-up. There are six other moms who could be writing posts just like this, since they all got texts and emails early this morning that their entire morning was cancelled.

So, what to do today?  It was a very busy day, now it is a suddenly....not busy day.  I don't know yet who if any of our family is going to fellowship, so I don't know if I need to be cooking food to send with my husband.  I can certainly do school with the well people.  I have many "paperwork" projects that have been waiting for my attention.  Show me a homeschool mom that DOESN'T have some paperwork or record-keeping calling out to them.  Always a lot of housework that I could be getting done, too.  If all else fails, I can always read a book.

But for now, my husband is working in the shop, one kid (sick) is on the couch, one kid (not sick) is complaining about how our usual Wednesday plans got cancelled (his mother's son, I am telling you) and two more are still in bed.  Usually the house is getting really noisy about this time of day, but right now the loudest thing is the washing machine.  I think I am going to try to absorb some of this peace, for just a few minutes.

A Five Thousand Year Leap

At least it seems that way to me.  Last night I got a laptop.  I was up until after 1 a.m. setting it up (okay, playing with it).  Wow.  I now have my Quikbooks for the business installed on it, and it is connected via wi-fi to the printer, so I can sit at the kitchen table and work, instead of having to be in the office/schoolroom all by myself.  While I was figuring that out, I figured out how to hook that printer via wi-fi to the desktop in the office/schoolroom.  Now I can put the OTHER printer in storage and re-claim about 2' of desk area.

This is all so exciting.

I am going to put the boys' math (Teaching Textbooks) on the laptop as well....at some point, so they can use it for their schoolwork, instead of the computer in my bedroom.  I may actually get to clean all their stuff out of my bedroom!

I know this may sound crazy, but this has been a really big day for me. Next I am going to go smoke some meat for dinner in my big electric smoker.

Life is all good.

It's Monday - What Are You Reading This Week?

Two books I started in the last week and then put back down:  Confessions of a Prairie B*, by Alison Arngrim, which I almost couldn't start because of the title.  Once I started it though, I decided that it probably wasn't worth my time.  I had read Melissa Gilbert's tell-all a few years ago, and I regret the loss of the hours of my life spent on that book.  This one is shorter, but still......

My bookmark is still moving slowly through Don't Waste Your Life, by John Piper.  It is something I usually read in the morning, along with my Bible and devotional reading.  So, it may take a while. 

This weekend I started the newest Flavia De Luce mystery I Am Half-Sick of Shadows, by Alan Bradley.  And today I received a lovely box from Amazon which contained Organized Simplicity: The Clutter-Free Approach to Intentional Living by Tsh Oxenreider (why doesn't her first name have any vowels????).


I also put back Death At Wentwater Court by Carola Dunn.



It reminded me slightly of Her Royal Spyness mysteries, but just not as fun.  So back into the bag it went.  I also read a few pages of Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio.  I don't know what I was thinking.  I tossed that back into the library bag as well.

Hmmm, that was three books, not two.  Getting picky I guess.  But really, you need to be.  There is only so much time available for reading, and I refuse to waste that time on a bad book.  And that is that!

I will post some reviews on my monthly round up.

And what is YOUR bookmark moving through this week?